Savage Awakening 27. Mount Saint Helens (II)

Three different classes with three different styles.

… and he liked them all. Tough!

He was more drawn to the first two. Wildfire Warden was pretty similar to what he was already doing, only moreso. He’d throw out his Chains like grappling hooks and sink them deep into the enemy's skin. Like whaling ships with harpoons—just hook that sucker in deep, drag them in, and end them. He liked the sound of it.

The second one, Infernal Mauler. This new Axe Form… it tickled him. He was thinking all the ways he could wield it, and getting more and more excited. And he wasn’t giving up his grappling—he still had Chains attached. It wasn't like you couldn't still strangle.

Plus, it said he’d gotten a ‘new form’… that implied a base form, right? Could you shift in and out?

He was thinking about his last fight with the Mad Dogs. It would’ve been so much easier if he just threw two Axes in a loop and sliced them all in one clean arc. None of this slappy lashy nonsense. Fast, explosive destruction… he sure liked the sound of that, too.

There was something to be said for cleaving. It cut to the chase. Now he was thinking of that cavern he saw way back in his warehouse dungeon—the Cavern of Insight, and those Laws of Sharpness he saw carved into its walls… if he chose the Mauler, those would suddenly be very useful.

But man. That Warden! He still did love dragging things in and crushing them… the Mauler would shift his style more to striking than grappling. …But maybe he was okay with that.

Besides—somehow, he doubted this would be the last Form he ever got. He’d get more subclasses. Eventually. Maybe he'd get more forms too. Who knew?

Yeah. He was decided. The thought of ripping, tearing, throwing out his weapons like homing missiles… but also wielding them up close, now his Chain lengths were adjustable…. He couldn’t pass up this kind of firepower. This was the one.

Class gained! Infernal Mauler!

Tier: Epic

Level-up stat bonus: Vitality: +0.5, Regeneration: +0.2, Strength: +0.9, Dexterity: +0.4, Speed: +0.5

Class Skill Learned!

Infernal Cyclone

Tier: Rare

Type: Active

In Axe Form, Chain Cyclone evolves into the Infernal Cyclone. It harnesses the raw ferocity of the Axe to unleash a whirlwind of fiery destruction. This attack summons a fiery tornado which sucks enemies in to the Axe’s line of attack—an inescapable and fatal fate.

Spirit Weapon Upgraded!

Prometheus Chains II

A tool of wisdom and fire, capable of binding and annihilation both. The

Signature Weapon of the Savage Sage. Currently at the second stage.

Stage I Powers: Heavy to others, light to the Sage, its weight scales with

the Sage’s level.

Stage II Powers: The Chains can now be shortened and lengthened at will, up to a mile

long. The longer they get, the more difficult to control.

Soul Weapon Form: Axe Form - The Chain’s ends are equipped with giant axe-heads

burning at the edges with a perpetual flame whose heat

scales with your level. The heads are sharp to others, yet dull to the Sage.

Time to test it!

He claimed this Dungeon for the Luminous Faction and moved eagerly on to the next.

It was an E-ranked dungeon, Thornshadow Hollow, a forest drenched in gloom. Hardly any daylight made it through the thick ceiling of a canopy. Brambles snaked up the trees, coiled down the paths, and the trees themselves were crooked, stooping, gnarled. As he passed he got the odd feeling that eyes were watching him from the darkness above. It was a spooky kind of forest, the kind children wander into, only to never return.

He’d seen a few variants of this kind. He supposed there were only so many kinds of forest dungeon you can make. This was scary forest #16.

He brought out his new toys.

The Chains thudded to the ground. He had a little trick now where he hopped before they landed so he didn't get thrown off his feet. At their ends...

Beautiful. Each axe head was as big as his torso, forged of a subtle yet perfectly smooth dark silver, so dark it was nearly black. That edge caught his eye—it looked like metal just brought out of the forge, constantly smoldering. It was white at the tips, stretching to deeper hues of orange as it went farther and farther into the axe.

He retracted the Chain. There was no handle—you couldn't just wield it like a battle axe. It was very much a Chain weapon. He picked it up. There was little weight to it, like it was made of cardboard, but he knew if he dropped it it would shiver the earth as though he’d dropped an anvil.

Carefully, he set a finger to the edge. It didn't hurt him. It didn't even feel sharp. And the fire didn't burn him either, it only tickled, like the heat coming off a candle.

Then he caught sight of a nearby tree. Thick as a Roman column. It looked like one of those old trees that had stood there for ages, sturdy enough to weather storms and time alike.

He thrust out the axe.

It moved so fast it shocked him. It was a blur of white line, and then it was gone. In its wake it left a huge crack, then another, then another—where had it gone? It was hard to see, and the light had suddenly vanished, leaving him lightless. Had it hit something?

Then pinpricks of sunlight peeked through the canopy—Zane saw why. The tree was start to wobble. It thundered to the ground, and where its branches had been a crater of sunlike gushed through.

Then the tree behind it wobbled too. And the tree behind that. And the tree behind that, and on and on—

He called the axe back, watching as a dozen thick trees in a row fell over, cleaved through down the middle. His axe had cleared them like a hot knife through butter, so easy he barely felt it hit.

The stumps of the trees were charred black.

“... Shit.”

***

That was pretty cool, but trees were trees. Time for a field test. He sought out the boss.

It was called the Wraith of Briars, this ghoul thing draped in briars which hovered around an all-white tree—white trunk, white branches, white leaves. The only color in it was a red sphere sunk deep into its trunk. It seemed to be where the Wraith drew its powers.

Zane sauntered casually into its lair. The Wraith whirled around, pale eyes bulging. The battle began.

He didn't even bother using Sage Mind on it. He just went for it, chucking out an axe. The Wraith flicked it out of the way. But he yanked hard on the Chain and the axe caught it on the backswing. Butter. The thing flopped over, torn clean in two. Not dead, surprisingly. Just in immense pain by the sounds of its shrieking. It was trying to grab for its other half, piece itself back together.

Its still living probably had something to do with that white tree. So Zane brought his axe back around, looped it wide, and threw hard as he could.

The instant the axe met bark, a matrix of wards flared brilliant blue on the trunk. There was a sound like glass shattering—then the axe cut through, sank deep in. He could feel a glut of essence struggling to resist it, and failing. It stopped three-quarters of the way through the trunk.

Then his other axe came in from the opposite side, and finished the job.

The tree toppled over like any other.

The Wraith of Briars has been slain!

... Yeah. That was almost too easy.

He grinned.

He was ready for Mount Saint Helens.

***

Three dungeons and four hours later, he saw the edge of the final dungeon—the border to Mount Saint Helens. There, the sky went from blue to a deep relentless gray, brooding over the land. The forest was unrecognizable. On one side it was lush green. On the other it was black, the color of ash. All the trees there were the same deathly shade of black. No leaves. No life anywhere he could see. The ground could’ve been igneous rock. Clouds of dust and soot drifted listlessly about in the air.

And in the distance, looming over it all, was a desolate mountain cut out against the gray sky. Streams of vibrant yellows and reds bubbled over the top of it, leaking down the slopes. It hacked out great plumes of ash.

It was as though there had been a volcanic eruption. And this wasteland was all that was left.

He stepped eagerly through.

You have entered: Dungeon: Mount Saint Helens (D)

Clearance Objectives:

Floor 1

Slay the Brimstone Drake

Slay the Ember Serpent (X)

(1/2)

Floor 2

Slay the Bedrock Golem

Slay the Molten Phoenix

(0/2)

Objectives met: 1/4

A boss was already cleared. So someone had been here before. Either that, or someone was still here. Hmm…

He walked cautiously, his bare feet crunching softly against the ash beds. Something felt odd… Those trees… On a whim, he reached out to touch one.

It crumbled away, drifting into the winds—gone in seconds, like a house of cards toppling. Unreal. As he walked, he saw bright cracks showing through the ash. Magma spurted out here and there. It was oddly quiet…

There were red dots on the upper left of this mini-map. Monsters. And they were closing in at breakneck speeds—they'd be here in under a minute. He turned to face them.

Still there was no sound. Nothing moved, so far as he saw--where were these things? He kept looking, but he could make out nothing.

He only saw them when they were nearly on him.

They were blended so deeply into the ashen ground they were nearly invisible. Their skin was mottled a crystalline black-and-purple, a subtler obsidian. There were six of them in a pack—

Nocturne Lizard

Type: Monster

Essence Level 41

The rest were high Level 30s, low Level 40s. These would be bosses in E-ranked dungeons. They were minions here. The implications made him shiver with eagerness. They swarmed him in an instant, hissing loudly. Their mouths blew out wide. Gobs of steaming tar gushed out at him.

They had him from four sides at once. But he didn't dodge. Instead—

Infernal Cyclone! He let his axes fly.

The first revolution picked up a strong gust which flung the tar-gobs off course. The second threw up a full-on gale. The third, the fourth, the fifth--it was as though the atmosphere itself was burning. A blazing tornado roared to life.

He saw the Lizards cringing back, and swept his axes low. He bet that Obsidian skin was strong as hell. But he'd built up so much momentum his Axes could not be denied. They cleaved clean through. He heard a faint crunching as they met that crystal-skin; they came out the other side bloody.

The lizards tried pulling back—but the wind wouldn't let them. They were yanked hissing into the cyclone, into the path of his axes as they spun around one last time.

And cleaved their heads clean off their bodies. CRUNCH-CRUNCH-CRUNCH!

Just like that. Six Level 40s Monsters, felled in one blow.

No time to savor it. Right now his Chains going so fast even he couldn't stop them; he was spinning too fast, losing control—

He had to ram them into the ground.

Then it felt like he stood at the epicenter of an earthquake, ash choked the air. When things stopped trembling, he saw two craters where the axes had struck.

… Now he thought of it, he could’ve just de-summoned them.

Ah well.

He frowned at his mini-map.

He wasn't the only one here after all. A clump of white popped up to the left—a dozen or so in total, moving straight for him.

So his antics had caught some attention.

The good kind, he hoped.

Though, even if it wasn’t…

He was Level 50. He must’ve been one of a few people on the West Coast to have a third subclass. What were the odds they had a single person who could match him? And with his Axe in hand, he felt a confidence bordering on irrational. …It probably was a little irrational, come to think of it.

Still. He figured, let them come. He'd come this far. He wasn't about to be chased away. If they had no problem with him, good. If they had a problem with him…

Well. He’d come here for a good fight anyways, hadn’t he?